2012 Global Automotive Forum to discuss shaping the future of auto industry

Beijing, September 3, 2012: The third annual Global Automotive Forum (GAF) is scheduled to open on September 6, 2012, in Chengdu, China. The two-day event will see automotive industry leaders and senior management from all over the world come together with related industry professionals from finance and governmental organisations to discuss serious issues facing the automotive industry. Autocar Professional is an overseas media partner for this prestigious event.

GAF 2012 speakers and attendees can be split into five distinct groups: Governmental officials, OEM manufacturers, suppliers and dealers, industry experts, and financial industry. All five groups are major stakeholders in the direction of the automotive industry and will direct the direction of the automotive industry over the next decade.

Confirmed speakers from government organisations include senior level representatives from China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), an overseeing body that is responsible for Foreign Direct Investment in China as well as overseas Chinese investment. The NDRC also has a major hand in developing and shaping the Chinese economy.

OEM manufacturers are well represented this year with no few than 30 senior level VIPs attending the forum. Notable names from Chinese manufacturers include Li Shu Fu, the chairman of Geely Automobile and Xu Heyi, president of Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation. Senior management from international manufacturers also includes Toshiyuki Shiga, the COO of Nissan, Rajeev Chaba, deputy general manager of Shanghai-GM, Lubos Vlcek, senior executive director of VW China and Michael Manley, COO of Fiat-Chrysler APAC. Other companies represented include BMW, Volvo, Great Wall, Guangzhou Auto, and First Auto Works (FAW) among others.

With automotive industry suppliers gaining greater prominence in the automotive industry with the introduction of new energy technologies, the 2012 Global Automotive Forum has given a strong platform for discussion on the auto parts industry. Senior management from10 different international parts and supply companies will be in attendance at this year’s GAF event, Jay Kunkel from Continental China, Edward J Neiheisel from Remy International, Chen Yu Dong from Bosch and Richard Chung from Johnson Controls are among some of the suppliers that will be taking part in the forum.

Dealers are also a key part of the automotive industry, and as such Pang Qinghua will represent the Pangda Dealership Group. Pangda runs over 1,100 automotive dealerships in China and represents dozens of different brands with their sales network that stretches across China.

A panel of automotive industry experts has also been created to discuss core issues, professors from Chinese and international universities will be attending GAF 2012 to discuss the past, present and future of the automotive industry. Automotive designers including Michael Robinson, executive brand and design director of Stile Bertone, Lars Falk, vice-president (Product Design) of Volvo Cars China, and also Gert Hildebrand, design director of Qoros Automotive will be in attendance to discuss the direct of automotive design in the face of high fuel costs over a designer’s roundtable event.

GAF 2012 will cover a number of different topics via seminars, open discussion and brainstorming sessions. The moderated panels are designed to instigate a two-way discussion between the panelists and the audience. GAF 2012 will cover the following topics:

• The future of automotive technology

• Expanding beyond borders: How to do it, and how to succeed

• Path to a greener tomorrow

• China’s commercial vehicle industry

• Auto financing and the services sector in China

• China auto industry landscape: Short, medium and long term outlook

• How components manufacturers are changing the global automotive landscape

• Brand strategy and innovation of marketing model in the new era

• Design strategy and products positioning

• Regulatory developments in the automotive sector

• Cooperation for a better future

The Global Automotive Forum was first held in 2010 and has quickly become one of the more authoritative forums in China. In 2011 it was ranked 10th in the Top 100 Conferences in China and is considered the leading automotive focused conference in China to date.

The third GAF event is expected to follow in the footsteps of previous events in terms of content, but this year’s event has attracted an even wider audience, and wider range of speakers from all over the world and in different industries which are core to the development of the global automotive industry.